Announcement

08/23/16- FAO Announces World Food Day Contests

Dear Universities,

We want to call on your students to join the global effort to achieve Zero Hunger.

In September 2015, 193 countries adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and in doing so, committed to end hunger by 2030. The next step is to unite efforts and work together towards this goal - governments, international organizations, the private sector, academia, farmers, and also the general public all have a role to play.

Without addressing climate change, this important goal cannot be reached. Climate change is affecting the health of our planet and changing our world. It is causing more natural disasters and environmental problems, which make it harder for us to grow food. Growing food is part of the problem too, as we have been taking shortcuts and harming our planet, with the aim of producing what we need. In order to feed a growing population set to reach 9.6 billion by the year 2050, we will have to learn to grow what we need in a sustainable way - a way that doesn’t continue to destroy our planet.

As the UN agency responsible for tackling hunger, our task at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is to build the Zero Hunger Generation, the first generation to eliminate hunger from the planet.

Your students are the Zero Hunger Generation. Not only do they have a crucial role to play in ending hunger by 2030, they are also the ones who will inherit our planet and the problems that come with it, including the impacts of climate change. The more we engage them in the dialogue surrounding their future and stimulate their thoughts and opinions, the more we can prepare them to tackle climate change and world hunger.

This is why FAO encouraging your university and its student organizations to participate in the 2016 World Food Day. There are many ways your faculty and students can participate, including:

1) Participating in the World Food Day poster contest for 5 to 19 year olds
2) Participating in the World Food Day video contest for 13-19 year olds
3) Use FAO World Food Day posters, brochures, activity book, and social media materials to create an interactive learning environment for World Food Day
4) Promote your students’ activities through social media with the hashtag #WFD2016
5) Organize an event to raise awareness of World Food Day and the climate change theme

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